to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’- [acts 26:18]
we are either serving God or serving satan
in his past, paul had been enslaved in the power of satan.
before his experience with Jesus on the road to damascus. paul had spent years walking in spiritual darkness. he had been a devout, religious man, a “pharisee of pharisees”, and he thought himself to be righteous. he was also considered righteous by those who also walked in darkness, as darkness always deceives those who walk in it. darkness keeps us from seeing until the light is revealed, displaying things as they truly are.
interestingly enough, paul is driven out of his spiritual blindness by a great light, which caused temporary physical blindness. yet his vision of the eternal was clear as ever.
paul makes clear that his actions are not his own, but are done at the directive of the savior, who has sent him to the gentiles. God will work through paul to “open their eyes”, turn them “from darkness to light” and “receive forgiveness of sins”. paul’s testimony was a contrast of who he once was, and who he became in Christ. it signified sanctification and forgiveness not just for him, but for anyone who was willing to believe the truth he had experienced.
like paul, we have been saved by the awesome power of Christ.
like paul, our testimony is not to be kept to ourselves.
we must not be okay just being okay, assuming our faith will naturally ‘rub off’ on those around us because we are generally nice folks and people will figure out this is because of Jesus.
they won’t
like paul, we are called to tell them, no matter the cost.
~ jason soroski